Golden
by Rysnail
Summary: The AU in which Nerdy!Blaine and Rachel are cousins and Blaine is sent to live with his uncle. And Kurt is a cheerleader.


**A/N: First off, this is the first fic I've ever really written. I don't know if it's any good in terms of writing style, and I have no idea if anyone will be interested in the storyline, either. Please, please comment if you enjoy this because if I get no feedback I'll just assume nobody is interested! I don't mean that in a bitchy way either, I just genuinely have no idea if anyone will be into this! I am very open to constructive criticism and to suggestions/plot ideas. I have a rough vision of where I want this story to go but I'm not closed off to readers' opinion! Oh.. and enjoy! (Hopefully) (Oh and I have no idea how to use this site, and only have notepad at the moment so sorry if formatting etc is horrendous!)**

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><p>Changing schools had always been a stressful thing for Blaine.<p>

Moving from elementary school to middle school had been alright, at first. He hadn't known what to expect and the excitement of growing up and meeting new people managed to take over the nerves. But the older kids got, the less understanding they seemed to become and Blaine noticed their tolerance for his height, the way he dressed, his slightly more effeminate manner and his love for all things musical slowly begin to slip as high school loomed closer. By the time he was in the eighth grade he was terrified at the idea of starting high school. Middle school had been bearable, there was taunting and the occasional shove, but a fourteen year old can only do so much damage. But highschool... kids there would be a lot older than him, and Blaine was small for his age as it was.

It was even worse than he'd imagined.

He'd never expected to actually be forced to move schools, but transferring to Dalton was the best choice he'd ever made. Even after he came out, the boys there were so accepting and friendly and Blaine had felt so at home. He'd been able to do what he loved most - sing - and instead of it being frowned upon in Dalton, he was like a rockstar. One of the most liked guys in his grade, and the younger boys looked up to him. Wanted to_ be like him_. So now, being faced with the idea of having to leave and transfer to a public school again, Blaine was distraught.

Blaine was also surprised that he was more upset at the fact that he was moving than at the reasons why. When Blaine had finally come out, when his father had found out _why_ he'd been bullied at his old school, he'd decided Blaine needed to be somewhere less sheltered, somewhere where he wasn't going to get a warped view of what the world was really like. It wasn't that his father had issues with his sexuality - he was trying, Blaine could tell, but he clearly thought that sending Blaine to public school might 'toughen him up' a little.

At first Blaine had taken it personally, convinced it was some kind of punishment to teach him a lesson. But a series of long, emotional talks with his father, mother and Wes, and he was feeling slightly better. In his own, bizarre way, his father really was trying to do what he thought was best for his son. Trying, in the long run, to protect him. Protect him by not protecting him. Twisted, but.. it made sense. _Sort of_.

Blaine was being sent to live with his uncle, who was gay and had a partner and a daughter. Blaine suspected that it was a large part of why his father had taken his own coming out so well in the scheme of things, and silently thanked whatever higher entity might exist for exposing his father to the idea of.. not being straight, a long time ago.

So here he was, in the back of his father's car on the way to stay with Uncle Hiram, Uncle Leroy and Rachel. Despite them living in the same state and only about two hours drive away, Blaine had only met them a handful of times, and not since he was too young to really remember. His father and Uncle were never very close. Had 'nothing in common', his father used to explain. It made a lot more sense to Blaine now.

They pulled up to the Berry's house just as it turned noon, and Blaine nervously slid out of the car.

"Look, Blaine, I know you don't like the idea of this, but - "

"No, dad. It's okay, I understand. I'm just... glad you're still able to look me in the eye."

"You're my son. I'm not exactly happy about this, but. I'm going to try. Staying with Hiram, it might be good for you to, uh - I mean, he'll know more how to. Deal with this. Be better at talking to you about - "

"Really, dad. I get it. I do. Shall we... shall we go in, then?"

Blaine's father took the last few steps towards the front door, and rang the bell.


End file.
